Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[maranfarmer563]

I have two silky sisters,each with their own nest,having their own hatch along. I gave them 7 eggs each of lemon cuckoo Orpingtons' from farmer boy,byc

 

[JaceAgain]

Hi!! I have so many questions! My silkie is 7 months old and had been broody and trying to hatch a golf ball and the 3 other hens fertilized eggs for 3 days now. Today I talked to my neighbor about it, and they brought me over 6 fertilized eggs to put underneith her, to see if she'll continue to sit. I guess thats chicken math, since I never intended on having more, but I felt so bad for her!

Anyway, is it possible to leave her in the coop the whole time and let her do her thing? She is the only silkie, but the other 3 are protective of her (2 slw and 1 EE). Not aggressive at all. They have a 4x8 coop that is 7ft tall, so there is a ton of space, and they free range from 8am to 8pm ish.

As others said, she should do fine with the small and friendly flock arrangement you have her in.... my only concern is the egg dates.   You say she has been setting for 3 days on 3 fertile eggs from your hens, and that the neighbor gave you 6 for her to set on... does this mean she is currently on 9 total or did you remove your first 3 and then give her the other 6?
  If she is on 9 total then you are most likely going to have a staggered hatch.  This means the eggs are due on 2 different dates and in your case the dates would be 3 or 4 days apart, which can be a problem. 
  If that is the case, you have a couple of options....
1) remove the first 3 eggs and toss them or put them into an incubator..
2). leave all the eggs under her for the duration of the sit and remove the first 3 chicks when they either hatch and are dry or just before hatch and let them hatch in an incubator, this will allow the hen to remain on the other 6 eggs till they hatch, then you can give her back her first 3 chicks. 
3)... Or when the first 3 begin hatching, you can remove the other 6 to an incubator to finish and hatch and then graft them back to the broody when they are dry.

 I know it seems complicated but staggered hatching is often a problem and can result in a hen who wants to take her new brood out to begin their life after a day or two in the nest but can't because she still has eggs to set on... so she is faced with a dilemma... ignore her first hatched chicks' need and continue to set on the unhatched eggs, or abandon the unhatched eggs and tend to the first born.... neither is a good result, so it is up to us as caretakers to minimize the problems.

Oh no, shes been broody on a golf ball for 3 days, and the other hens eggs who are UNfertilized (I miss typed) and which I keep lifting her up and pulling out. So only 6 fertilized eggs. For 1 day. one is a duck egg though, I didnt realize they have longer hatch times so once the other chicks are done, assuming the duck egg is good Ill give it back to my neighbors and they have an incubator.

 

[bumpercarr]

I'll never be able to keep up with this thread!

I'd like to ask a few questions for everyone who has a BIG broody mama. Does yours occasionally break eggs? Did you have to teach her not to, did she learn (the hard way) or just naturally know how to step? Any methods you use to make her brooding easier (like lower nests or easier grips to enter)?

I've medium-sized birds atm but thinking of crossing a couple breeds for a broody mama. I'd love a bigger girl but I've read how they're so clumsy, or maybe I just found all the bad threads & not enough raves about how awesome they are.

And thank you kindly for your time!

I have brahmas, my broody hasn't broken any, but I put a lot of bedding into her nest. Also, bigger is better. If she has to squeeze into the nest box, there is more likelihood that she will break one or two. Mine won't sit in a nest box, she moves/lays her eggs on the floor of the coop so that she has lots of room (which can also cause broken eggs, but not for me yet). My current broody weighs about 10 lbs. But, as most have said on here, if you have a broody, you'll find that they are very stubborn and tend to do what they want to do regardless of what you think is best. At the very least, deep bedding will help. A friend of mine with brahmas doesn't use dividers in her nest boxes, makes it easier for them to take whatever space they need but also makes it easier for others to lay eggs in the broody nest. Hope this helps.

 

[ochochicas]

My two "large" hens sat on their eggs without breaking any. One egg did crack, but it was my fault since two of them bumped each other when I moved the hen. It hatched 5 days later anyway! My nest boxes are pretty big and bedded with straw. There is about a 2 inch lip on the front of them. I didn't give them a lot of eggs so they'd have a better chance of hatching.

 

[podgal]

I had a feisty broody hen who seemed dedicated and with "all the right stuff". She's young. During her first attempt she kept changing nests. During her second attempt she ate half the eggs and made a mess. Third attempt, a mix of both. I read the posts in this thread with gireat abandon and learned a lot. I separated her, kept and eye on her. followed many suggestions and finally decided this wasn't her time. After I decided I didn't want her to brood any more, I used techniques discussed and successfully broke her broodiness. The information contained in this blog made all the difference. Thanks to everyone who posts, critiques, and provides their own experiences. My hope is that she will get better at being a momma next spring. Thoughts?

 

[cheepcheep riri]

Ok so just in July my amerucauna/english game hen went broody with 20 eggs ( only 9 hatched I know!!) Then her sister did and hatched 1. Then another one went broody and I let her have 2 eggs that didn't hatch and let her take 1 more egg since she I'd
stubborn and won't let me take her egg away.

 

[ChickyChickens]

I found a hideaway hen yesterday that has got 20 eggs and 1 chick! I couldn't believe my eyes when I counted 21.

 

[lablover]

This was their first time up on the big roost, about a week ago. Mama was not happy when I moved them all back to their side of the coop. They're just too little to be up on that high roost with 8 other large chickens. They're now 4 weeks old though, and the temps have dipped into the 60s. I'm not letting them out to free range, because they're already cold in the coop. Last night, Mama had all four under her on the roost, so no worries there, but what about during the day? She doesn't just lay around for them any more....

 

[ChickyChickens]

This was their first time up on the big roost, about a week ago. Mama was not happy when I moved them all back to their side of the coop. They're just too little to be up on that high roost with 8 other large chickens. They're now 4 weeks old though, and the temps have dipped into the 60s. I'm not letting them out to free range, because they're already cold in the coop. Last night, Mama had all four under her on the roost, so no worries there, but what about during the day? She doesn't just lay around for them any more....

Oh cute man!

 

[Johnn]

Coco is inheriting her mothers backside!